ELECTION 2015: Promises abound as federal NDP leader rallies Penticton troops

PENTICTON – The first federal leader to make a campaign stop in Penticton drew hundreds of party faithfuls Monday evening.

Hundreds of South Okanagan residents crammed into two salon rooms at the convention centre Monday, Aug. 31, to hear federal New Democratic Party leader Tom Mulcair rally the troops for the upcoming Oct. 19 election.

With limited space and the two salons filled elbow to elbow, some people had to listen to Mulcair’s address from the convention centre foyer. 

Mulcair was joined by regional NDP candidates, including local riding candidate Richard Cannings (South Okanagan-West Kootenay), Norah Bowman of Kelowna-Lake Country, Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola candidate Angelique Wood, Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo candidate Bill Sundhu and North Okanagan-Shuswap candidate Jacqui Gingras.

Mulcair wooed the strongly partisan audience with a promises of funding for disaster relief, tourism, infrastructure and transit as well as lower tax rates for small business and a higher minimum wage.

He promised to strengthen the Disaster Financial Assistance Agreements and restore funding to the Joint Emergency Preparedness Program, referencing the recent Oliver wildfires and the work being done by 'thousands of hardworking men and women (who) have been on the front lines fighting forest fires for a good part of the summer.'

“Just up the road in Oliver, there are 235 men and women fighting a wildfire that would cover almost half the area of downtown Vancouver,” he said.

Mulcair also promised immediate action on women’s and aboriginal issues, promising to call an inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women within the first 100 days of taking office.

Mulcair will be in Vernon helping to launch Jacqui Gingras’ campaign in the riding of North Okanagan-Shuswap today, Tuesday, Sept.1. He’ll also make a stop in Salmon Arm prior to another rally in Kamloops tonight.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.